Machine and process for making corrugated tubing



Dec. 13, 1938. A. BENSON MACHINE AND PROCESS FOR MAKING CORRUGATEDTUBING Filed Jan. 2, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 W 5251?? BY fliM )2? 92% V MI ATTORNEY.

A. BENSON 2,139,714

MACHINE AND PROCESS FOR MAKING CORRUGATED TUBING Dec. 13, 1938.

Filed Jan. 2, 1936 sweets-sheet 2 E INVENTOR Q drzdzea/ Benson/s BY W QK72% ATTORNEY.

Dec. 13, 1938. A. BENSON 2,139,714

MACHINE AND PROCESS FOR MAKING CORRUGATED TUBING Ma i Filed Jan. 2,1956' 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 gunman mug:

g l \W H ggamnmk I V I on Patented Dec. 13, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE MACHINE AND PROCESS FOR. MAKING CORRUGATED TUBING corporation ofIllinois Application January 2,

15 Claims.

Corrugated tubing is a well known product and is desirable for manypurposes, particularly where flexibility is desired. Various methodshave been heretofore used or proposed for making such tubing but suchmethods and apparatus therefor have been subject to various objectionsand have not proven satisfactory. One of the objections common to someof such methods is that the process does not provide for compressing thepartly formed corrugations to complete the compressed tube.

The present invention relates generally to an improved method for makingsuch tubing whereby tubes of any length, or continuous tubing, may bemade in an economical and satisfactory manner, and the corrugationscompressed and spaced to complete the forming of the tube.

Other objects of this invention reside in a stepby-step series ofoperations whereby the tubing is first grooved and then the sectionsbetween the grooves compressed to complete the corrugations; to providean improved method of making corrugating tubing in continuous lengths;to provide improved apparatus for making corrugated tubing in anexpeditious and an economical manner; to provide an apparatus for firstgrooving the blank tubing and then compressing the intermediate materialto complete the corrugations; to provide a novel die or forming meansand operation for forming grooves in the tubing; to provide novel meansfor compressing the grooved sections and spacing the same to completethe corrugating operation; and to providesuch other improvements inoperation and in the apparatus as will appear more fully from thefollowing description.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention,

Figure 1 is a side elevation showing one form of my tube corrugatingmachine;

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on. the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail showing a preferred form of groove-forming die;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the machine;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 a of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 1;

Figure 7 is an enlarged sectional detail illustrating the grooving andcompressing operations, parts being omitted or shown in section forconvenience in illustration;

Figures 8 and 9 are enlarged sectional views illustrating the grooveforming operations; and

1936, Serial no. 57,141

Figure 10 is a face view of one of the operating cams.

The sequence of operations in carrying out my improved method aresubstantially as follows: circumferential grooves are first formed inthe tubing blank by means of unique forming means such as a die or dieswhich first partially form the grooves and then complete the formingoperation, leaving intermediate annular sections which are to be actedupon to form the corrugations. The next operation consists incompressing these intermediate portions to form the corrugations and toproperly space the same to complete the corrugated tube, all of theseoperations being carried on in a step-by-step or substantiallycontinuous manner. 1

In order to carry out these operations I provide a machine having a mainframe or bed H which is supported on legs i2, A main operating shaft I3is carried in bearings l4 and may be driven in any suitable manner as bymeans of a worm wheel I5 which is driven by a worm IE on a transverseshaft I! carried in bearings l8 and actuated by a pulley or drivingwheel I 3 from any suitable source of power.

The blank tube or work piece is first engaged by feed rollers 2| and 22which are carried respectively on shaft 23 and 24. The shaft 24 iscarried in bearings 25 on a carriage 26 which is slidably mounted on thebed or main frame member II. The shaft 23 is carried in bearings 21 onarms 28 which are pivotally mounted on a shaft 29 carried in upwardlyextending brackets or bearings 30 on the carriage 26. The free ends ofthe arms'28 may be fastened in adjusted position by means of eye bolts3| as shown in Figures 1 and 4. 1

The shafts 23 and 24 are connected or driven in unison by gears 32 and33. The shaft 23 is actuated to provide for the feeding movement bymeans of a ratchet wheel 34 which is engaged by a pawl 35 mounted on anarm 36 pivoted on the shaft 23. The free end of the arm 33 is pivotallyconnected with one end of a reciprocating rod 31 by means of a bolt orpivot 38 which may be adjusted along the slot 39 in order to vary-thelength of the feed.- The rod 31 is pivoted at 40 150cm end of a lever 4|which in turn is pivoted at 42 on a bracket 43 extending downwardly fromthe main frame. The lever 4| is actuated by means of a roller 44 whichis engaged by means' of a cam 45 on the shaft l3 whereby the rod 31 willbe moved downwardly to actuate the pawl 35 and other parts to turn thefeed rollers. The lever 4| and parts connected therewith are held innormally raised position by resilient means such as a spring 48. It willbe readily seen that as the cam is rotated, the pawl 35 will be actuatedto turn the ratchet wheel 34 and the length of the stroke may be variedby adjusting the bolt 38.

The carriage 26 may be adjusted manually along the bed II by means of acrank 41 on a shaft 48 which is mounted in bearings 49 secured to thecarriage 28. A gear 50 on the shaft 48 engages with a rack 5I on the bedI I so that when the handle is turned the carriage will be caused tomove longitudinally of the bed for adjustment purposes which willpresently be explained.

The circumferential grooves in the tube or work piece 20 such as shownat 52 are formed by means of a die 53 having an opening therethrough ofthe form shown in Figure 3. The central part of the opening 54 has sidesof segmental form, this part of the opening being suflficiently large topermit the tube or work piece 20 to pass freely therethrough. The sidesof the opening adjacent to the central portion are substantiallyparallel and the distance between the same as shown at a: issubstantially the same as the diameter of'the bottom of the groove 52.The ends of the opening are of semi-circular form, each of whichconforms to the shape of one-half of the groove. The cross section ofthe inner edge of the die forming the periphery of the opening issubstantially the same as the cross section of the groove to be formedin the tube. The die 53 is slidably mounted in a supporting block 55carried by the carriage 26, which block has a hole 56 for receiving thetube 20, as shown in-Figure 7, and serves as a sup rt or coacting diemember.

The e 53 may be actuated by any suitable mechanism for reciprocating thesame, which in the form shown comprises two levers 51 and 58 which arepivotally mounted at 59 and 60 on a bracket SI secured to the bed I I asshown in Fi ure 5. The upper ends of these levers are bifurcated andconnected by bars or contact pieces 62 and 33 which engage with the endsof the die 53 as shown in Figure 5, and are of suillcient length tomaintain engagement therewith at any point of adjustment of the dielongitudinally of the bed I I. The lever 51 has a roller 64 at its lowerend which engages with a cam 65 on the shaft I3 and the lever 58 has aroller 86 at its lower end which engages with another cam 81 alsomounted on the shaft I3 These cams are so shaped that the die 53 will bemoved from a central position in one direction to groove one side of thetube and then in the opposite direction to finish the groove and thenreturn to central position to permit the free longitudinal movement ofthe tube for the next operation.

The forming of the grooves 52 leaves intervening annular ribs orsections 88 which are of'the same diameter as the tube and somewhatelongatedas shown at the right in Figure "7. The next step in theoperation is to compress these sections longitudinally of the tube inorder to complete the corrugations. To accomplish this I'provide one setof jaws 68 and III which are secured respectively in slides" and I2which are mounted transversely to the work piece in a second carriage ortable I3 which is also slidablymounted on the bed II. This carriage isreciprocated by means of a roller" which engages with'a cam groove 15 ina cam wheel 16 on the main'shaft I3. The inner periphery of the openingbetween the jaws 88 and I0 is' substantially the same as the diameter ofthe bottom of the grooves 52 and the edges of the jaws forming suchopening is of approximately the same cross section as the bottom of thegrooves, as shown in Figure 7, so that when the jaws are closed theywill grip the tube at the bottoms of the grooves preparatory tocompressing the intermediate uncrimped portion 88. The slides II and I2are moved inwardly by means of levers I1 and I8 which are pivoted onshafts 18 and carried in a bracket 8| on the bottom of the bed II. Thelower ends of these levers are provided with rollers which engagerespectively with cams 82 and 83 on the shaft I3, these cams beingformed to cause the jaws to move inwardly to closing position. Theslides are normally urged toward open position by means of springs 84and which are connected at their outer ends with brackets 86 and 81which extend outwardly from a fixed portion of the main frame structure.The jaws 68 and I0 are also provided with lugs or projections 88 and 89which cooperate with other jaws 80 and 8|.

The jaws 80 and 8| coact with the jaws 88 and I0 and also with otheroperating parts to complete the compressing or forming of the completedcorrugations 82 as shown in Figure 7. The jaw: 80 and 9| are pivoted at83 and 84 respectively on slides 85 and '96, which slides are operatedby a cam and lever means which are substantially duplicates of theoperating means just described for the slides II and I2. For thispurpose levers 81 and 88 are pivoted on the shafts I8 and 80 and havetheir upper ends engaging with recesses 88 and I00 in the ends of theslides as shown in Figure 6. The lower ends of the levers are providedrespectively with rollers II and I02 which coact with cams I03 and I04mounted on the main shaft I3. These cams move the lower ends of thelevers outwardly at the proper times to force the slides together toholding position. The slides and parts coacting therewith are movedoutwardly or to free position .by means of springs I05 and I" which areconnected with the slides and with the brackets or pins 86 and 81 asshown in Figures 4 and 6.

The jaws or compressing dies 80 and 8I have a limited swinging movementon the pins 83 and 80 and are urged outwardly by means of springs Illand I08 as shown in Figure 7. The jaws are also provided with stop lugsI08 and H0 to limit their outward swinging movement. While the springswill ordinarily be suflicient to provide for such swinging movement, Ialso provide pins III and H2 which are mounted in the slides 85 and 86transversely to the jaws and have their inner ends engaging with thejaws. The opposite ends of these knock-out pins project into slots orrecesses I I3 and I I4 in the block or frame member H5 in which theslides are mounted and at the ends of the opening strokes of the slidesthese pins engage with the tapered portions of cams or plates II! and IH which force the pins inwardly against the jaws and consequently swingthe jaws on their pivots.

Tube holding and corrugation compressing jaws H8 and H8 are also mountedin the slides 85 and 88 to cooperate with the jaws 80 and 9I incompleting the corrugations. The jaws H8 and III 5 have inwardlyextending annular gauge or blade portions I20 and HI which determine thefinal spacing between the corrugations as will be seen from Figure 7.

The block or frame piece II 5 is secured to the bed I I by means ofbolts I22 and has a limited adjustability on account oi having the boltspass through elongated slots therein. This block may direction so thatthe periphery or engaging portube and fit tightly around the same.

be adjusted longitudinally of the bed by means of set screws I23 whichpass through a bracket I24 which is secured to the bed by" screws I25.In order to release the sets of jaws from the tubing the shafts 'I9 and80 are mounted eccentrically in their bearings in the bracket 8| and areprovided with handles I26 and H1 for turning the same which will permitor throw the upper ends of the levers outwardly and" thereby withdrawthe slides from engaging position.

When a tube or work piece such as the tube 20 is to be corrugated theend is passed between the feed rollers 2| and 22 and its forward endinserted in the hole in the supporting block and grooving slide housing55 and through the central opening 54 in the grooving die 53. Themachine may then be started and will reciprocate the grooving diewhereby the margin or periphery forming one end of the opening thereinwill be forced against the tubing and will form the groove aroundapproximately one-half thereof as shown in Figure 8. During thismovement it will be noted that the shoulders in the edges of the dieadjacent to the central opening will first engage with the surface ofthe tube and start to depress the groove therein and as the movement ofthe die member progresses the adjacent engaging edges will graduallypress the walls inwardly until the groove is formed. When the die hasmoved to its extreme position in one direction the cams will actuate thesame to move it in the opposite tion around the opposite end of theopening will act upon the opposite side of -the tubing and therebycomplete the groove as shown in Figure 9. While this operation may bemade with one movement in either direction for ordinary tubing, the sameoperations may be performed in a series of steps if necessary for otherkinds of material or tubing and for this purpose a plurality of similardies (not shown) may be utilized. After the groove has been formed thecams will bring the die 53 to central position preparatory to theforward feed of the tube which is accomplished by the rack and pawlmechanism above described and which is adjusted to move the tube forwardone step of for one corrugation. .This operation is continued until theforward end of the tube is approximately in position to be engaged bythe jaws 69. In order to bring these jaws into register with the firstgroove it may be necessary to adjust the carriage 26 which may be doneby means of the handle 41 and parts connected therewith as heretoforedescribed. When the forward groove is in position to be engaged by thejaws 69 and ID the machine is again actuated and the formation of thegrooves will be continued throughout the length of the tube. At thistime the jaws 69 and 70 will move inwardly until they encircle thegrooved portion of the In the meantime the jaws 90 and III have alsomoved into position to engage with the tube. The table I3 then movesforwardly which causes the jaws 69 and ID to compress the intermediateportion 68 of the tube between these jaws and the jaws 90 and 9|, thuspartially forming the corrugations or. folds in the tube. During theforward movement of the table I3 the projections 88 will engage with thejaws 90 and 9| and move their cams and coacting parts permit thewithdrawal of the jaws 69 and Ill and the table 13 moves backpreparatory for the next operation. The sets of jaws 90 and 9| and H8and H9 are then withdrawn from engagement with the tube which is fedforward another step or corrugation and these jaws are then movedinwardly to engage with the partially formed corrugations preparatoryfor the next operation and as these operations are continued thecompletely formed corrugated tubing will be discharged from the machinein astep by step movement. It will be noted that the space between thecorrugations may be regulated or determined by the thickness of theannular blades or gauge pieces I20 and I2I.

The necessary adjustments and details of the operation will be readilyunderstood by those familiar with this art and it is thought that theabove description is suflicient to fully disclose the operation of themachine. .It will also be noted that changes may be made in theconstruction as well as in the operation in order to adapt the same todifferent conditions or different forms of tubing and therefore I do notwish to be limited to the particular construction herein shown anddescribed or to the method of operation, except as specified in thefollowing claims, in which Iiclaim: I

1. In an apparatus of the character set forth, the combination ofsupport means for supporting a .tube, a coacting die member having anopening therein with the central portion larger than the tube and theend portions of less diameter than the tube, with their peripheriesshaped to conform to grooves to be made in the tube, and means forreciprocating said die member to bring the end portions alternately intoengagement with the tube to form annular grooves therein.

2. In a'machine for operating on a tube of any desired length, thecombination of means for supporting the tube which engages with theoutside of the tube only, means for feeding the tube with a step-by-stepmovement, a die having a groove forming portion defining an opening inthe die for engagement with the sides of the tube to orm an annulargroove therein, and means for reciprocating said grooving die to causeit to engage with the opposite sides of the tube to form the grooves.

3. In a machine for corrugating a tube, the combination of die means forforming annular grooves in the tube, means-for actuating said die means,means for feeding the tube to the die means with step by step movement,a pair of corrugating dies for compressing the portions of the tubebetween the grooves longitudinally of the tube, means for actuating saidlast named dies to bring them into and out of engagement with thegrooves in the tube, and means for causing said last named dies to moverelatively toward each other lengthwise of the tube to compress theintermediate portion of the tube.

4. In a machine for corrugating tubing, the combination of die means forengagement with the tube to form annular grooves, means for 8.0- Q

tuating said die means, means for feeding the tube through the diemeans, a pair of jaws which engage with one of the grooves in the tube,a

second pair of jaws which engage with the next adjacent groove of thetube, means for moving the last named jaws longitudinally of the tube tocompress the intermediate portion thereof to form an outwardly extendingcorrugation, and

spacing means coacting with said jaws for spacing the corrugation.

5. In a machine for corrugating tubing, the combination of a pair ofspacing and holding jaws having inwardly projecting annular bladeportions which are pressed between two adjacent corrugations on the tubeto space the corrugations uniformly, said jaws also serving to hold thetube against longitudinal movement during the corrugating action, meansfor reciprocating said jaws, a second pair of jaws pivotally mountedadjacent to the first named jaws with their free ends having annularportions for engagement with grooves in the tube, means forreciprocating the second named jaws, means for forcing the free ends ofthe second named jaws toward the first named jaws for completing thecorrugating action, a third pair of jaws having annular portions forengagement with grooves in the tube, means for reciprocating the lastnamed jaws, and means for moving them longitudinally of the tube tocompress portions of the tube to form annular corrugations in the tube.

6. In a machine for corrugating tubing, the combination of a support, apair of slides mounted in said support, means for reciprocating saidslides, a pair of holding and spacing jaws mounted in the slides andhaving segmental blade portions to be inserted between adjacentcorrugations, a second pair of jaws pivotally mounted in said slides andhaving their free ends shaped to engage with grooves in the tube,yielding means tending to hold the free ends of the pivoted jaws innormal position, a second pair of slides mounted in the support adjacentto the first named slides, means for reciprocating the last namedslides, jaws mounted in the last named slides having their innerportions shaped to engage with grooves in the tube, and means for movingthe last named slides toward and away from the first named slides,'andprojections on the last named jaws which engage with the free ends ofthe pivoted jaws to cause them to move toward the holding jaws.

'7. In a machine for corrugating tubing, the combination of a framehaving a longitudinal bed, a carriage slidably mounted on the bed, a dieblock on the carriage having a hole therethrough for receiving the blanktube, a die slidably mounted in the block and having an opening with itscentral portion of greater diameter than the tube and having segmentalend portions with their peripheries of less diameter than the tube andadapted to form annular grooves in the tube, a driving shaft mounted insaid frame, cams on said shaft, levers pivotally mounted on the frameand coacting with the cams for reciprocating the die, a pair of feedrollers mounted on the carriage, means actuated by the shaft for turningsaid rollers intermittently to feed the tube, means for adjustingthe'feeding means, manually operable means for adjusting the carriagelongitudinally of the bed, a table slidably mounted on the bed, aprojection on said table, a cam on the shaft engaging with theprojection for reciprocating the table, a pair of slides mounted in thetable, cams on theshaft, levers pivotally mounted on the. frame andcoacting with the cams for forcing said slides-inwardly, yielding meansfor moving 7 the slides outwardly, jaws mounted in said slides blockadjacent to the first named slides, cams on said shaft, levers pivotallymounted on the frame and coacting with the cams for moving the lastnamed slides inwardly, yielding means for moving the last named slidesoutwardly, a pair of holding and spacing jaws rigidly secured in thelast named slides and having segmental portions combination of a framehaving a longitudinal bed, a shaft mounted in said frame, means forturning said shaft, a carriage slidably mounted on the bed, rack andgear mechanism for manually adjusting the carriage longitudinally of thebed, a feed roller mounted on the carriage, levers pivotally mounted onthe carriage adjacent to the feed roller, a shaft carried by saidlevers, a second feed roller mounted on the shaft and co acting with thefirst named roller for feeding the tube, a cam on the shaft, a leverhaving a roller coacting with the cam, a rod pivotally connected withthe lever, an arm on the last named shaft, means for adjustablyconnecting the arm with the rod, a pawl carried by said arm, a ratchetwheel on the last named shaft which is actuated by the pawl for turningthe feed rollers, a die block on the carriage having a hole therethroughfor the tube, a grooving die mounted in said block, means actuated bythe shaft for reciprocating the die to form grooves in the tube,crimping means mounted on the bed in alignment with the feeding andgrooving means for engagement with the tube to compress and space theportions of the tube between the grooves to form annular folds, andmeans actuated by the shaft for operating said crimping means.

9. In a machine of the character set forth, the combination of a framehaving a longitudinal bed, a main shaft mounted in the frame, means forturning said shaft means on the bed for receiving and feeding a tubetherethrough, means actuated by the shaft for operating said feedingmeans, means on the frame for forming annular grooves in the tube, meansactuated by the shaft for operating said grooving means, crimping andspacing means mounted on the frame for folding the portions of the tubeintermediate the grooves to form annular projections spaced evenlyapart,

and means actuated by the shaft for operating said crimping and spacingmeans.

10. The method of corrugating tubing which includes placing the tube ina support which engages with the outer surface thereof, then formingannular grooves therein by means of an external reciprocating die havingan opening through which the tube passes, provided with oppositelydisposed groove forming portions where'- by a substantiallysemi-circular portion of the 11. The method of corrugating tubingwhichconsists in forminga plurality of evenly spaced grooves in the tube,then subjecting the portions of the tube between. the grooves tolongitudinal pressure by means of suitable dies to compress 5 saidportions and form peripheral corrugations in the tube.

12. The method of corrugating tubing, pipe or the like, which consistsin first forming annular grooves in the tube which are spaced evenlyapart, then holding the tube against longitudinal movement andsimultaneously compressing the portion of the tube between two of thegrooves to form an annular corrugation, and simultaneous- 1y compressingthe tube between two previously formed corrugations to complete theregular spacing of said corrugations.

13. An apparatus for forming grooves in tublng, including a supportadapted to engage with the outer surface only of the tubing forsupporting the same during the grooving operation and coacting die meanshaving oppositely disposed U-shaped grooved portions, and means forreciprocating said die means to cause the opposite grooving portions toengage alternately with the opposite sides of the tube whereby acomplete annular groove will be formed in the tube.

14. An apparatus for operating on tubing, in-

cluding a die having a recess with a peripheral portion shaped toconform to a groove to be made in the tubing, a coacting supportengaging with the outer surface only of the tubing for supporting thesame during the grooving operation, and means for actuating the die toforce it into engagement with the tubing to form a groove therein.

15. In a. machine for operating on a tube of any'desired length, thecombination of means for supporting the tube which engages with theoutside of the tube only, means for feeding the tube with a step-by-stepmovement, a die having a groove forming portion defining an opening inthe die for engagement with the sides of the tube to form an annulargroove therein, said groove forming portion being shaped to conform tothe groove to be made in the tube, and means for operating said groovingdie to cause it to engage with the opposite sides of the tube to formthe groove.

ANDREW BENSON.

